Out of the Frying Pan and into…High School.

Yes, you read that correctly. I am back in High School. Um, what? Who? What is this all about? Well blogging world, I will explain. Unfortunately, I cannot go into a lot of detail, but I am privy to say a few things.

First, life has been extraordinarily chaotic since I started back as a full-time, working mom 6 weeks ago. I am not going to lie. I really miss being a SHARK (stay home and raise kids). I absolutely loved my time home with Idan, and I feel so fortunate that he and I were able to spend one special year of just “mommy and me” time.

But alas, I have to work and have had to do everything I could to adjust to a new routine of getting both a spirited toddler and a not so spirited mom ready by 6:30 am every day.

I have had to adjust to full time hours, and some overtime spilling into before/after school and on the weekends. I am training my body to be in bed by 9:00 pm and am trying to fully embrace every extra hour I get with Idan before his bed routine.

So, what does this have to do with High School? Well, I am happy to say that the universe offered me an opportunity to transfer from the middle school I was at, to one of the High Schools nearby.

I speak very highly of my former school and staff, after all they gave me a chance, but I will openly admit the position I accepted was not for me. I realized fairly quickly that that job did not help me use my strengths as a teacher. And frankly? I was unhappy.

I will leave it at that. Being a teacher there are some things you just can’t publicly talk about, but I will say that there were some tense uncertainties about the future. But as luck would have it, I was able to transfer to a new position, and I just finished my second week there.

And I am happier.

I never thought that I would find ANY pleasure in teaching high schoolers. Aren’t they all just a bunch of thugs who talk back to teachers and make out in the hallways? Don’t they just throw spit wads and make fart noises at the teacher while he is teaching? And then all the jocks just belch, point fingers and laugh?

What about the outcasts who lurk quietly down the hall with black eyeliner and chains coming from their faces? Or the obnoxious cheerleader squealing her cheers in the hallway with cutsey pig-tails and Minnie Mouse bows on the top of her head?

This is what Hollywood wants you to believe, and sadly in my naive thinking, I thought this too.

I was wrong.

Yes, everything I mentioned above DOES happen…but on such a small scale. I have seen the jocks, the belchers, the kids kissing, the eyeliner kid. But In my two weeks teaching High School the one thing that has shocked me the most is the revelation that these people are just KIDS.

Kids in big bodies, confused hearts, and soon to be adult minds. I am so glad that I get to be a part of their journey. I know come May I will want to strangle these soon to be adults and cry because they are still kids, but after teaching middle school for 9 years, I am humbled. I always turned my nose up at teaching High School. But I am no longer afraid.

So Universe? This year has been tough. I am not going to lie. But thank you for another opportunity to better myself as a person, and hopefully better other people.

I will keep everyone in the loop on how this year goes.

Oh, by the way…I am team teaching Algebra 2 all day. Thanks for that one, Universe. Ugh.

Yeah, that whole conversation of “when are we ever going to use this?” has just come back to haunt me. I am using it again, and have to relearn EVERYTHING. Damn. I shouldn’t have screwed around so much in math class.

Thanks for reading.

Cool “Idan-isms”

-He likes to hoard several items in his bed or he won’t sleep. This includes two books, three stuffed animals and a blanket.